Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2)[July 9, 2025]

[Nirkatze]

Yeah, I've heard the phone app is pretty horrible, and most folks just use the browser on their phone... So I hear, as I have yet avoided owning a phone...

[Mitali]

I was using the app till 2024.. but app doesn't hide spoiler in BRs.. so you see all the spoilers anyways. Hence, moved to browser on phone this year to join BRs with you all. Much better overall experience wise too.

[Paula]

I use the app on the phone and i just skip over the spoiler when the (view spoiler) appears

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I hate auto-app opening browser links in general, on mobile... not just with goodreads... yet another reason I got rid of it years ago and use browser...

[Alvin]

Finished and enjoyed this book!

The audiobook aspects (namely the voices) are outstanding. As I was reading through the first half, I felt like there was still a lot of infodumping (I guess that's required for the game mechanics in a litRPG book). I was surprised because it seems like something people hate in most books these days, but not in DCC. I think the humour and the character voices more than compensate for any dragging that infodumping does to the pace of a story. Nevertheless, from a storytelling point of view, I think Mordecai could have explained maybe fewer items or monsters and allowed Carl and Donut to figure some of it out by trial and error.

It's been a while since I read the first book, but I remember there were so many characters and items in that book that my brain really couldn't retain all of them. As I was reading this one, I was constantly feeling like I should have reread the first book. I didn't expect so many callbacks in this book. So even though I may have missed the significance of some of those callbacks, I hope I at least got the gist this time.

I really liked the second half of this book. I liked how the story was able to move beyond random encounters and mere punching and explosions that seemed to be most of what we'd gotten so far. I started to see the glimmers of a broader, more impactful story (which almost every person who's read further down the series is always hinting at). I also liked that Carl and Donut's relationship has deepened, and I feel like I really care about them a lot more.

I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Infodumping is kinda common in this series... the start of each book is RPG mechanic heavy, dealing with level ups gained at the end of the previous book, and explaining the rules of the new floor, which tends to follow different RPG rules each book... Battle Royale, Card Battler, Creature Collector, etc...

[Mitali]

Finally finished. I am falling more & more in love with Donut. I think i need a t shirt too. Towards the very end, i was feeling a bit underwhelmed.. but (view spoiler)[then all of the twists shown in Odette's show made up for it. Overalll, i find tbe series hilarious with wtf moments throughout. The quests of the Circus and Overcity were good too. Excited to see if Carl and Donut's party is going to keep increasing like this. Will Katia stick with them or join back Hekla in book 3.. ooh.. Is Bea alive?? And the scenes with Mongo and the salamander n dwarf kid.. rofl... making poor Carl run naked.. AI's obsession with Carl's feet and overall fan's obsession with his boxers.. lol.
(hide spoiler)]

They should definitely make an animated series of this. Would be worth watching. Ooh I'm starting Book 3 immediately.

[Alvin]

They are making a webcomic, so that’s halfway to an animated show. From the samples i have seen, Donut looks adorable!

[Ann-Marie]

Seth McFarlane bought the rights to the series, not sure if it would be animated or live action.

[Mitali]

Ann-Marie wrote: "Seth McFarlane bought the rights to the series, not sure if it would be animated or live action."

Either works. :D

[Ann-Marie]

Mitali wrote: "Ann-Marie wrote: "Seth McFarlane bought the rights to the series, not sure if it would be animated or live action."

Either works. :D"

Agreed providing Jeff Hayes is the voice of Donut for live action and the voice for Donut, Cark & Samantha (if the series lasts that long) for animated!!!!!

[Saar The Book owl]

I haven't read the messages yet in this thread, but adding the quest option is an interesting addition in the dungeon. (view spoiler)[The storyline of the circus and Signet gives something extra in the story and the opportunity to gain more XP, but on the other hand, it takes more time to get to the next level in time. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Feels like they exited the tutorial.

[Paula]

Started, until chapter 18, and its very addictive so I will finish it tomorrow (view spoiler)[ Nice, they didn't change races.

I laughed out loud when the AI prize was a boost on the boxers so now of course he won't wear pants. Between that and the shoe thing he is just funny to imagine.

And I also like to have more permanent characters like Mordecai as a manager.

And I am doing audio at the same time as eye reading and it's really good. I retain information more with the added bonus of great audio performance (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

I really enjoyed my eye/audio combo!! Totally agree. (view spoiler)[And I'm FREEE! FREEE BALLIN'! OMG Carl's outfit just gets worse and worse... Donut mentions assless chaps at one point... I don't think it happens but imagining it is... yikes.

I was also glad their races didn't change their general being--primal, human, same thing? But I was surprised at how many people they do run into who have changed.... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

All right folks, what do y'all think you'd choose, race-wise? I'm gonna have to think about this...

[Paula]

Tough question, I wouldn't mind if it was something very very human-like like fae or some mythological creature not too ugly. But then again, if it's too survive the one Luzia had seems pretty baddass, even if somewhat creepy. Reminds me of Hel form the Norse mythology (half human, half corpse)

[Nirkatze]

Yeah! I was also thinking of Hel for Lucia Mar's Lajabless--so then I looked up Lajabless (aka La Diabless), and found it's a Caribbean cryptid... Googling for pictures is really interesting... a lot of colonist-style Carribbean dresses and skull-faces:

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

I think I might choose something like Hekla or Ellie... I often choose races with cold affinity (since I live up north and love it)... I think Katya's Doppleganger sounds really interesting too, once mastered... Primal would also be a no-brainer...

[Paula]

Are Hekla and Ellie mythological races? Because Ellie is just a name. Doppelganger is also cool

[Nirkatze]

Oh, I meant like their characters. I think Hekla (view spoiler)[is like Nordic Warrior Maiden or something like that, and Ellie (Mrs. McGibbons) is a Frost Faerie or something like that...

EDIT: Hekla is an Amazonian. Which also sounds cool. Warrior women FTW.

Hekla is the leader of Brynhild's daughters, who asked Carl to watch over Katya. Elle (sorry, I keep thinking it's Ellie 'cuz that's how the audio says it, but it's spelled Ellie) is Mrs. McGibbons, one of the elders from the retirement home group. I think she's the one who was always talking about her old boyfriends? (hide spoiler)]

EDIT: My bad! Some of this is book 3 but not big spoilers.

[Paula]

Thanks! I only remembered Elle but yeah, those races sound cool too

[Nirkatze]

I had to look up Hekla's choice too. :)

[Paula]

Finished! (view spoiler)[ I was very surprised the Maestro was killed, I thought he would be a more importsnt characters.

And it was such a shame that Carl and Donut couldn't get a celestial box! The dude who open it owe them, so hopefully he will help them later on.

Good point, Nirkatze, on the game being like hosting the Olympics.

Also, not poor Carl having to run naked and everyone in the galaxy seeing that. So embarrassing! And funny for us to see (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

OMG That end!! (view spoiler)[Carl running naked! Forgot about that!! At least with his feet and buffs etc, he has less to worry about than others.

And yeah, being cheated out of that box really sucked!!! And the dude who opened it--just wait. RAFO. RAFO real hard. (hide spoiler)]

And oops, I just realized you were reading #2, not #3--the details on races and Hekla & Elle and all that, I think that's in #3. I should go spoiler tag that.

[Paula]

The ending was memorable (view spoiler)[ True, but it's no fun running naked

Oooh, interesting, glad that the dude will come again. (hide spoiler)]

I am glad I didn't forget everything I read then. I'll start book three soonish

[Nirkatze]

My bad, I'd finished book 3 not long before you started commenting and my brain was still lingering over that and not wanting to move on... I love book 3...

[Paula]

No worries, it wasn't very spoilery

[Nirkatze]

Whew!

[Saar The Book owl]

I've just finished and that second book was already on another level, literally and figuratively spoken. (view spoiler)[The quests are an interesting addition to the dungeon. It's not only about grinding and gaining experience anymore. It's a story into a story. Also, Carl and Donut seems to be bonding more and more. There was even a bit of an emotional moment when they thought they would die. There are also some unanswered questions, like: Donut lost her tiara. Will she enter the 10th floor with Carl or not? Or doesn't that count, because the thing just crumpled away? I'm curious on how the storyline of Katia and Hekla will evolve. Will there be an attempt to murder Carl to get to Donut? But the more important question is: when will Carl put his pants back on? :D It seems more and more clear that Carl and Donut and all the other Crawlers and NPC's are puppeteers from Borant and are entangled into the politics from all the different universes. Between grinding, fighting,...Carl and Donut are complotting against the corrupt systems. The story about the frog was another evidence of it. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... level/floor 3 ;)

[Nirkatze]

LOL I love all your questions, and agree with your most important one.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Again, with the announcer voice feelings (I've mentioned that in a few threads recently)...

Find out next time on: Dungeon Crawler Carl: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook...